tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-271257692011-11-27T16:25:00.076-08:00Opinions, tips, advice, resources, and commentary on the world of travel.Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comBlogger3261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-12093055775645219062011-03-20T10:31:00.000-07:002011-03-20T10:35:58.423-07:00

It’s taken us awhile, but we’re finally happy with our traveling computing and internet-access needs (at least domestically).We have a small, 10-inch-screen Acer netbook that weighs about 2-1/2 pounds. We toyed with the idea of an iPad, but we really need a keyboard. (And I’m just not an Apple fan.) Plus, I can buy (and trash or upgrade) three netbooks for the price of an iPad. I need programs to

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-9675118533685490522011-03-08T08:36:00.000-08:002011-03-08T08:39:28.919-08:00

More news on the United/Continental merger. You can now transfer miles between your frequent flyer accounts. Information here.

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-47895939844515648552011-02-17T13:20:00.000-08:002011-02-17T13:23:13.387-08:00

Great news. United is retaining Economy Plus, and will be adding it to the Continental fleet in 2012. Details here.

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-48913377623693546902011-02-15T08:36:00.000-08:002011-02-15T14:01:29.257-08:00

We noted a few posts back that we’re liking Delta more and more. This morning we just received an email saying, “we have eliminated our mileage expiration policy - no asterisk, no fine print, no ifs, ands or buts.”Wow. This could be a game-changer in the industry. Delta goes on to say, “We are proud to be the only major U.S. carrier without mileage expiration.” More details here.More thoughts

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-36315630054324149952011-02-03T11:37:00.000-08:002011-02-03T11:47:18.965-08:00

Even as a kid, I don’t think I ever believed the “alligators in the sewers of New York” legend. And that was in the day when rumors traveled slowly – word of mouth; an obscure newsletter; a letter from a friend that took a week to arrive.Everything today is instantaneous – blogs, Twitter, Facebook, online news. Yet some myths, legends, and cults continue to thrive in this world of openness and

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-39963165364565389142010-11-10T09:07:00.000-08:002010-11-10T09:09:53.508-08:00

We’ve recently relocated to the southern Rocky Mountains, and our closest real airport is now Albuquerque – an hour and a half away. Denver is 6 hours away, and every other large airport (SLC, PHX, DFW) is twice that distance.We just read that Delta’s flight attendants rejected unionization. (Stay with us, we’ll bring this all together in a second.) And the rumors are swirling about Delta

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-3668935966717872502010-09-27T09:07:00.000-07:002010-09-27T17:10:23.180-07:00

It’s getting interesting again. Southwest Airlines has announced its intention to buy AirTran. Even though the news is only hours old, there have already been a lot of words spilled about routes, hubs, and the like. The airlines even already have the obligatory merger website up.Much of the news centers about integration of aircraft, and about how Southwest now gets access to Atlanta – a big draw

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-49439572491685149682010-08-23T13:44:00.000-07:002010-08-23T13:49:31.956-07:00

Now we know. For the absolute best ticket prices, book your airline flights 8 weeks in advance, in the afternoon.A couple of Japanese economists have concluded (via this wonderful formula... A = gUG + min(k - g, (1 - g)(1 - r) ...or some such nonsense) that the best price-window for ticket purchases is exactly 8 weeks ahead. In the afternoon. These folks must not travel all that much. Let's hope

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-4321232067222978842010-08-23T08:28:00.000-07:002010-09-07T15:11:45.788-07:00

Are you a Value shopper or a Price shopper?A price shopper searches out the best price – no matter the circumstances. WalMart, Spirit Airlines, Dollar rental cars. Value shoppers look for the best value for their money – no matter who the vendor is (although many times there’s a loyalty value, too).WalMart may have the best price, and also sometimes the best value, but then so might Tiffany’s.

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-14272895538094235122010-08-14T07:58:00.000-07:002010-08-14T08:04:57.104-07:00

As the 3 regular readers of this blog probably know, we hate jargon. Corporate America simply loves to say less with more. In a recent issue of Business Travel News we found some excellent examples of political/lawyer/PR/financial geek-speak.In a sidebar to an article headlined, “Airlines Unlikely To Add Much Capacity,” were the following quotes from the CEOs of the “big 5” domestic airlines. See

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-89459659489556885472010-07-07T10:28:00.000-07:002010-07-07T10:30:59.967-07:00

The travel blog-o-sphere has been awash in words about Aegean Airlines entering the Star Alliance (one of the “big 3” airline alliances), and the fact that with Aegean one can gain Star Alliance “Gold” status with far fewer miles than with any other airline in the alliance.(For the uninitiated, once Star Gold is attained on any Star Alliance airline – and there are a lot, it’s the biggest airline

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-1598901071497092002010-06-28T21:31:00.000-07:002010-06-29T09:19:06.671-07:00

We recently saw a lengthy blog article discussing the “value” of frequent-flyer miles and hotel points. In general, the author postulated that miles/points were mostly worth 1 to 2 cents per mile/point. And that may be realistic for the redemption of points (allow me to just call them all “points” from now on).Every so often, a travel writer/blogger has to take on the topic of value of miles.

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-10778688219905936992010-06-10T21:17:00.000-07:002010-06-10T21:31:04.003-07:00

Unless you’ve not traveled in the past several years, you’ve probably heard about the Transportation Security Administration’s new Virtual Strip-Search Machines (oops, TSA’s new full-body scanners).The always-excellent The Middle Seat column in The Wall St. Journal yesterday discussed travelers’ reactions to the new full-body scanners. Several quotes in the article were deeply depressing and

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-53258190295915477692010-06-06T15:26:00.000-07:002010-06-06T15:28:36.230-07:00

I love all the wild speculation about what’s going to happen with the “new” United – the merger of the old United and Continental. The branding of the new company – with the United name, the Continental logo, and a mix of executives (headed by the Continental boss) – seems to indicate that the merged airline will take a similar approach in cherry-picking what parts of the old companies to retain

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-69597305032718481472010-06-02T10:08:00.001-07:002010-06-02T13:44:43.320-07:00

Airlines aren’t known for reducing fees or adding benefits without some (usually sneaky) tradeoff. But an email we just received from Frontier Airlines sounds like the airline is truly enhancing their product and customer service. The email says, in part:“You told us you wanted lower and fewer fees and the ability to select your seat assignment when booking an Economy ticket. We heard you, and

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-7547209356599555952010-05-28T17:04:00.000-07:002010-05-28T17:05:57.626-07:00

With the new credit-card laws coming into effect, we’ve been watching the transitions going on with reward credit cards. It’s been subtle, but we’re seeing a few more annual fees, combined with a few more incentives.We just got a solicitation for the Chase Ink Plus Visa. For $60/year annual fee (waived the first year), this “upgrade” from our regular Ink card offers a few more points on some

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-45887527060382594132010-05-23T10:10:00.000-07:002010-05-23T10:16:54.593-07:00

I’ve recently become disappointed with the Boarding Area Mutual Admiration Society. (Oops, make that the Boarding Area bloggers.)Boarding Area is an umbrella for a group of travel bloggers who once seemed to have interesting, unique, and informative voices (and occasionally still do). Now, though, most of these writers seem to all write about the same new credit-card sign-up offers; they offer

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-60822593520931974212010-05-10T09:16:00.000-07:002010-05-12T09:00:16.332-07:00

We like to sit in the middle. No, not the middle seat, not the middle of the airplane, but in the middle seating option between Sardine and Extravagant. That means some sort of Premium Economy – and in the U.S. that usually means just more legroom with few extra perks.Some time ago we did an extensive round-up of Premium Economy on various airlines. Things have probably changed a bit since then

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-66734602683442398242010-05-04T09:10:00.000-07:002010-05-04T09:11:51.149-07:00

We know Consumer Reports has a huge following. But every time we see a CR article about something that we really know about (bikes, skis, travel, art, photography, kitchen knives, etc., etc., etc.) we find the articles and recommendations typically way off base. So why should we believe their recommendations about things we don’t know much about (vacuum cleaners, garbage disposals, dishwashers,

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-6240140858777420752010-05-03T09:02:00.000-07:002010-05-03T14:51:21.938-07:00

To me, the most interesting aspect of the just-announced United-Continental merger is the depth, scope, and professionalism of the merger website. The interactive combined route map is pretty kludgy, and quite a few questions are left unanswered, but overall it’s amazing what they’ve put together in probably less than three weeks (the amount of time since “serious” talks were made public).The

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-90317830796979886512010-04-18T09:50:00.000-07:002010-04-19T13:50:57.770-07:00

[Updated 4.19.2010 See below.]Am I one of the few people who find the whole “fees for carry-on baggage” imbroglio hilarious? Everyone seems to be taking it so seriously.First it was Spirit Airlines declaring that it will begin charging passengers “up to $45 to place a bag in an overhead bin.” [NY Times]. Then, it was New York Senator Charles Schumer gaseously spewing that he was going to draft a

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-89914421986122616562010-04-12T18:18:00.000-07:002010-04-12T18:24:36.944-07:00

Almost everyone has their panties in a wedge (in one way or another) over the fact that Spirit Airlines has announced it will be charging a fee for carry-on bags. Even our Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood, seems to have nothing better to do than say: “I think it’s a bit outrageous that an airline is going to charge someone to carry on a bag and put it in the overhead. And I’ve told our people

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-82530545925251210122010-04-07T08:39:00.000-07:002010-04-07T08:41:44.610-07:00

It’s already all over the internet, so I’ll just note the headline from the UK Daily Mail: “The mother and daughter who ‘tried to smuggle corpse on to plane’.” Read the full article.

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-69623266688847184852010-03-23T09:21:00.001-07:002010-03-23T09:21:54.398-07:00

This is probably the first time I’ve agreed with anything Ryanair’s Chief Executive Michael O’Leary has said or done.After leasing a few Ryanair planes to British Airways during its strike, O’Leary called the striking union cabin crews “spectacularly stupid.”

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-7113524495061065552010-03-17T09:25:00.000-07:002010-03-17T09:30:23.849-07:00

We seldom spend time looking at the statistics of our various websites and blogs. But a recent post on the Ridge Winery blog got us to thinking (always a very dangerous thing).Since the first of the year, this blog has been reached directly; by referrals; and via 312 different search terms. Far and away the most searched-for phrases were some variation of “no international ATM fees.” Several of

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-92090372012847648102010-03-13T09:08:00.000-08:002010-03-13T09:14:19.901-08:00

Travel photography (all photography, really) has been redefined with digital cameras and web distribution. Copyright has essentially become dead as a dodo – so many snapshot photographers are posting so many millions of travel photos online, and few if any are concerned with protecting their rightful copyrights to their images.It appears that some travel businesses are taking advantage of amateur

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-44576380795238527972010-02-27T10:19:00.000-08:002010-04-13T13:00:25.083-07:00

There’s been some interesting speculation about what brand/name will eventually emerge from the Republic-Frontier-Midwest airline conglomerate. Republic’s head honcho, Bryan Bedford, has seemed to indicate in some press reports that the company is leaning toward an integrated brand. And sooner rather than later.Having been a marketing/branding consultant for many years, here’s my two cents

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-71519542661245343602010-02-23T13:19:00.000-08:002010-02-24T16:04:32.738-08:00

We just got back from our firsts flights since another stupid Muslim stuck some explosives in his underwear. We’ve also been reading about the tribulations of international security. (Canada seems to be the worst offender, with 3-hour-before-flight airport-arrival suggestions and complete checked bag searches and pat-downs.) Our (domestic) flights went fine this trip, but we got to thinking about

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-1802492818211718382010-02-08T13:14:00.001-08:002010-02-08T13:18:03.562-08:00

Time is a totally human construct. Over thousands of years, we have tried to tame the untamable, manage what is inherently chaotic. We set our clocks to suit our farming, education, business, recreation schedules. Then, we tinker with those settings by changing things in the summer with Daylight Saving Time.A few times in U.S. history, we’ve made DST permanent – during World War II and again

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-36443007891206461402010-01-14T09:59:00.000-08:002010-01-14T10:00:35.008-08:00

If you’re concerned for the people of Haiti, you’re also probably wondering how best to help. Organizations world-wide will be pouring money and resources into the country. Our suggestion is to support Kiva.org, which helps people all over the world become more self-sufficient with micro loans. See Kiva’s comments about the Haiti earthquake relief here. A loan (much more valuable than just a

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-35954786333714255822010-01-14T09:58:00.000-08:002010-01-14T09:59:33.429-08:00

We found this great quote on the Upgrade Travel Better blog. Use your imagination as to its context, or read the whole post.“Sausages and hams ‘are much more dangerous than people think,’ says Janice Mosher, an official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-69313191858746017142010-01-05T16:00:00.000-08:002010-03-13T09:20:02.903-08:00

The rightly famous and ubiquitous Rick Steves recently posted his 10 New Year’s Travel Resolutions for 2010. Rick’s list (condensed) is:• Take my last glass of wine away from the restaurant and enjoy it under the stars. • Stretch 10 minutes a day. • Eat at the counter in market eateries to [experience] all the local action. • Order more adventurously to delve more deeply into regional cuisine. •

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-64179379320449933972009-12-28T09:46:00.000-08:002009-12-28T09:51:46.286-08:00

I’ve just got to stop reading. Regarding the new TSA rules and airport security: "All the sensible voices in the world will fall on the deaf ears of the powers at the top." Thus, on to a different topic.Many observers of the world of reward credit cards, hotel points, and frequent flyer miles have bemoaned the new “grade inflation” of Hilton hotel’s properties. Basically, Hilton has raised the

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-17333752722134495442009-12-26T16:52:00.000-08:002009-12-30T09:49:40.432-08:00

The TSA and the U.S. government (and governments worldwide?) received a nice little Christmas present as a result of the attempted terrorist attack/bombing/explosive device/whatever-it-was on a Delta/Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.[Please don’t think we’re saying the attack itself was a good thing. And don’t get us started on profiling and Islam.]The gift? Once again our leaders have

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-84242242546840180452009-12-21T10:47:00.000-08:002009-12-21T10:51:04.028-08:00

United Airlines has come out with what may be an enticing new Visa Select card (through United’s credit-card partner Chase, of course).For a $130 annual fee (not waived the first year), you receive:30,000 initial bonus miles3 miles per $1 spent with United2 miles per $1 spent with other Star Alliance airlines2 miles per $1 spent on gas, groceries, dining, home improvement stores1 mile per $1 for

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-50398824090158024912009-12-15T09:09:00.000-08:002009-12-20T16:37:34.274-08:00

Oh, is there any other kind?The cabin crews of British Airways have voted to strike from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2, effectively putting the airline out of operation during the busiest time of the year. Of course, the cabin crews (who, if they’re like U.S. flight attendants, consider themselves in the security business rather than in customer service) could care less about the million-plus passengers

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-36765924551480437682009-11-21T18:07:00.000-08:002009-11-21T18:09:01.597-08:00

OK, we know it isn’t exactly about travel, but it did at least take place in Paris.... The third annual National Stiletto Championship awarded 3,000 euros worth of shoes to the winning team. If we're in Paris in November, we want to see this.

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-58905513946360755482009-11-19T17:38:00.000-08:002009-11-19T17:41:32.846-08:00

There’s been more than a few gallons of ink spilled lately about the TSA’s new requirement that your name on your ticket must exactly match the name on your identification. Many airline websites now allow you to book with a full middle name (rather than just a middle initial, for example). But very few that we’ve found allow you to change your name in your frequent flyer account profile.Of the

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-22662773823309452302009-11-18T13:55:00.000-08:002009-11-18T13:57:48.818-08:00

This one is worth coming out of our slumber for. According to Yahoo Travel News/Associated Press, American Express will begin withholding rewards points/miles earned by customers who are late paying.We’ve stressed that reward credit cards only make sense if you pay your bill in full each month, but this is onerous. According to the article, while Chase and Citi also withhold rewards on some cards

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-80049452551669703502009-09-27T09:24:00.001-07:002009-09-27T09:29:55.145-07:00

As you have probably noticed, we haven’t posted in quite a while. We’ve been growing frustrated and tired of the blog-twit-internet-online world, and have been spending more time on more significant writing projects.We may someday return to this blog on a regular basis, and we may occasionally post something in the future that’s just too irresistible to ignore. But for now, Adios. As a way of

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-31557875719424824042009-08-02T07:38:00.000-07:002009-08-02T07:43:02.741-07:00

What to do in the heat? Compare weather forecasts. I’ve recently been trying to see if any of the major weather forecasts have a bit of accuracy. This is unscientific, and limited in scope and location.The 5 online weather reports I tested were from the National Weather Service (NWS); Weather.com (The Weather Channel – TWC); AccuWeather; WeatherUnderground; and Intellicast. For one of my first

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-8492495507632091092009-07-30T14:57:00.000-07:002009-07-30T15:00:04.135-07:00

JetBlue has announced a complete revamp of their frequent flyer program, TrueBlue. The changes include points earned on dollars spent, rather than miles; and the ability to redeem for one-way awards.Hotels.com had argued that their name was not generic and could be trademarked. The registration claim was denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-53989814881306833592009-07-23T09:00:00.000-07:002009-07-23T09:03:23.002-07:00

The best “back-up” passport suggestion we’ve seen. Scan your passport pages and email the images to yourself. You can pull copies up from any computer, and don’t have to worry about hiding photocopies in your socks.Wine tourism is an international phenomena. Five wine regions (California, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa) have joined forces to create the New World Wine Alliance, to

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-7726525228271688562009-07-21T10:30:00.000-07:002009-07-24T08:17:48.191-07:00

(Disclaimer: Guess I’ve just been tired and grumpy in the heat.)Not too many years ago they blamed their troubles on the 2001 recession and 9/11. Then it was sky-high fuel prices. Next it was the world economy falling into the toilet in this current recession. Now it’s the (somewhat related) crash in business travel. The dinosaur airlines have an excuse for their every failure to create a

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-31687600445744020572009-07-13T08:53:00.000-07:002009-07-13T09:03:25.212-07:00

“The Wall St. Journal [says] American, United and US Airways [are] the most at-risk [of bankruptcy].” – Today in the Sky“After leveraging everything from frequent-flier miles to spare jet engines, United is running low on assets that it can use as collateral.” – Chicago Tribune“[Standard & Poor’s analyst Philip Baggaley] doesn’t rule out one or more carriers filing [for bankruptcy] as soon as

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-62046225855088289002009-07-05T09:54:00.000-07:002009-07-05T09:55:54.677-07:00

Would you pay $5 for a glass of Two Buck Chuck (aka Two Buck Junk)? Southwest Airlines isn’t exactly pouring TBC, but has switched its wine service to Coastal Ridge Chardonnay and Merlot, both made by the same Bronco Wine Company that makes Trader Joe’s TBC.We’re pretty sure that Coastal Ridge wines don’t exactly come from the same giant vat as TBC, but they still taste like industrial,

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-21310227688004726672009-07-03T10:20:00.000-07:002009-07-03T10:28:30.817-07:00

We’ve generally been big fans of alternative accommodations – timeshare trades, private apartments, home exchange, and VRBO (vacation rentals by owner). But we’re really getting annoyed with many of the homeowners advertising on vrbo.com.It seems that many properties have now taken the ebay approach – sell the product for $5 but charge $10 shipping. In the VRBO case, it’s pricing the night’s stay

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-67435647431999451692009-07-01T18:23:00.000-07:002009-07-01T18:30:30.284-07:00

Say goodbye to all those different cell-phone chargers – at least if you have a phone manufactured for the European market. The European Union has gotten 10 mobile manufacturers to agree to produce a universal cell-phone charger for smart phones. On board are Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple, Motorola, RIM, Samsung, LG, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and NEC. A micro-USB plug will be used for all phones

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-23265202981198710312009-06-30T08:17:00.000-07:002009-06-30T08:33:51.394-07:00

We just saw two Tweets on Twitter – one from jetBlue that said, “Woot! Thank you all so much! J.D. Power and Associates ranked us top in Customer Satisfaction for the 5th time,” and the other from Alaska Airlines that said, “Thank you! Highest in customer satisfaction among traditional carriers in North America 2 yrs in a row!”At first quick glance, we were confused, two “highest/top” ratings?

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-28876430204604434032009-06-29T08:41:00.000-07:002009-06-29T08:44:15.291-07:00

The weird, wonderful, and hugely popular London Eye is being refurbished – one cabin at a time. The upgrade is planned to be complete by the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.View From the Wing has an excellent roundup of current mileage and hotel reward credit cards.Fitch Ratings has downgraded Delta’s credit rating – still better than its rivals, though. According to ATW News,

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-7596632233209514942009-06-26T08:37:00.000-07:002009-06-26T08:41:42.713-07:00

We’ve been pondering the latest news of acquisitions by Republic Airways (U.S.) and Lufthansa (Germany). And we really haven’t come up with any brilliant commentary about whether their recent acquisitions hold portent for the future of air travel, or are just signs of a couple of successful (?) companies growing while the cherry picking is good.Just for the record, here are the airlines that

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-24551201202432141572009-06-24T09:22:00.000-07:002009-06-24T09:28:39.965-07:00

We’re beginning to think that Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has been drinking too much of his own Kool-Aid.From the Los Angeles Times:“Ryanair... Europe’s largest low-cost airline, will bar passengers from traveling with anything other than hand luggage as it seeks to cut costs.Ryanair plans to offer an ‘unlimited’ allowance for carry-on bags ... while abolishing checked luggage from next spring.‘

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-87698684162321656622009-06-23T10:06:00.000-07:002009-06-23T14:10:05.983-07:00

If you write a travel blog – or any blog, for that matter – watch out what you write and how you disclose any compensation you might receive. The Federal Trade Commission wants to get in your face and “monitor” what’s written online about products, trips, or anything that purports to be a sort of “review” that might have been influenced by compensation from a company. The FTC has an 86-page

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-34240212972730003712009-06-22T09:20:00.000-07:002009-06-23T10:06:00.244-07:00

View From The Wing has a good evaluation and commentary about the proposed new carry-on-baggage-standardization bill that’s been introduced in Congress. The bill, HR 2870, is delightfully being called the “Securing Cabin Baggage Act.”No airline has yet to make it work – the all-business model (Silverjet, EOS, Maxjet) – and it looks like the last holdout may not survive either. Speculation is

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-59880127259981260272009-06-19T08:09:00.000-07:002009-06-19T08:18:33.878-07:00

Nicholas Kralev, in his blog On The Fly (published by The Washington Times), revisits an ongoing discussion about the ethics of travel blogs (and, by extension, all blogs) that aren’t written by “professional” journalists. While fairly objective, in my view the article perpetrates some myths about travel writing – on blogs or in traditional media. I wish Kralev had taken this nascent discussion

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-50823018406529717142009-06-18T08:11:00.000-07:002009-06-18T08:13:36.345-07:00

Coming soon to a country near you: In-flight cell phone use. The last two major holdouts in the UK cell phone industry – Vodafone and Orange – have agreed to let their subscribers use their mobiles on aircraft featuring the OnAir system.A report in the UK TimesOnline says that the service will cost £2.50 per minute (about $4 currently). The article stresses that many mobile users could be shocked

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-52145786695460506402009-06-16T09:35:00.000-07:002009-06-16T09:40:15.386-07:00

Just a few days ago, we posted a piece about a survey from MilesLink that said most credit card users (in their poll) strongly preferred frequent flyer miles as rewards. We tended to disagree, noting that we felt miles seldom offer the most value. A recent article by finance columnist Liz Weston quotes a J.D. Power survey about which cards and card companies users were “happiest” with. American

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-40061209504691760352009-06-13T07:47:00.000-07:002009-06-13T07:49:21.362-07:00

Everyone in the world is apparently either on Twitter or talking about Twitter. On the site, there seems to be this weird competition to see who can have the most followers. (In case you’re one of the last four people on the planet who doesn’t know, on Twitter you post 140-character Tweets, and people can choose to follow your postings. You, of course, can also choose to follow other people or

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-48003413898544204422009-06-12T08:45:00.000-07:002009-06-12T08:47:49.836-07:00

The June 10 MilesLink newsletter reported results of a poll about preferences for frequent flyer and reward credit cards. One of the questions was....“If you could have one credit card only from the list below, which card would you choose? 66.7% Co-branded credit card earning miles in a frequent flyer program 0% Co-branded credit card earning points in a hotel loyalty program 16.7% Cash-back

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-50194373622184695012009-06-11T08:28:00.000-07:002009-06-11T08:29:54.787-07:00

We love good quotes. According to ATW Daily News, British Airways CEO Willie Walsh wrote in the latest edition of BA News that “[the OpenSkies subsidiary] is not profitable, Heathrow is not profitable, Gatwick is not profitable, cargo is not profitable and British Airways is not profitable.” Cheerful.

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-30369769634545185332009-06-10T08:54:00.000-07:002009-06-10T08:55:21.650-07:00

“Think Tanks Expect US Travel to Cuba to Open Fully by Oct” – Jamaica Observer

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-51212936319197551742009-06-10T08:07:00.000-07:002009-06-10T08:09:03.267-07:00

Could we possibly say anything more when the headline says it all? “Airlines Reduce Size of Spoons to Save Fuel” – Telegraph UK

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-25593796164641885702009-06-06T13:00:00.000-07:002009-06-06T16:33:47.471-07:00

After posting several entries recently about changes in credit card rewards, we thought we’d detail our two current favorite reward credit cards. (Note that we are NOT an affiliate marketing site for any card or other product, so we have no agenda in recommending any one card over another.)The Hilton American Express offers 6 Hilton HHonors points per $1 spent at grocery stores, gas stations,

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-90270029537502260702009-06-06T09:10:00.000-07:002009-06-06T09:14:53.287-07:00

Delta Airlines seems to have deposited 1 mile in every frequent flyer account. That means you now have another 24 months before your miles expire. This is good news for infrequent flyers who may have some miles with an airline, but don’t want to lose them if they don’t fly the airline for awhile. Remember also that once you link your Northwest and Delta frequent flyer accounts, you can transfer

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-6809640758260610452009-06-03T10:12:00.001-07:002009-06-03T10:16:04.075-07:00

Microsoft has entered the travel-search game with Bing, a combination of Farecast and MSN Travel. Bing also has a weeklong trivia contest on Twitter, beginning today, June 3.Hilton Hotels is offering 25% off their “best available rate” if paying with a Visa Signature card. Pre-qualification of the card is required before booking. Finally, a decent benefit for Visa Signature.United Airlines has a

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-80817610170727551472009-05-23T10:25:00.000-07:002009-05-23T10:37:49.937-07:00

The TSA is now requiring the name on your travel documents (passport or driver’s license) to exactly match the name on your ticket. So if your passport says John James Smith, you better not buy a ticket for John J. Smith (unless you want even more hassle from the TSA – as if that were actually possible). The TSA says they’ll cut travelers a little slack “for the near future.” Sure.Most driver’s

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-72079319834247359252009-05-20T17:08:00.000-07:002009-05-23T10:22:01.689-07:00

Here we go again. Both the House and Senate have quickly passed legislation that will attempt to curb some of the credit-card industry’s current practices in the areas of fees, interest rates, late-payment penalties, and the like. Of course, The Pundits are out in force, proclaiming (to paraphrase): “The end of rewards cards as we know them,” “Annual fees will reappear for most cards,” and our

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-54670953693719505762009-05-20T09:09:00.000-07:002009-05-20T09:14:57.692-07:00

Yippee! Another fun, mindless survey of the airline industry is just out!Readers of this blog know of our fondness for surveys that purport to be gauges of customer experiences, quality, favorites, or just silly lists. The latest is the annual “American Customer Satisfaction Index.” The ACSI rates or ranks many industries, and businesses within those industries. Here’s how the airlines scored:

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-45309854268705608762009-05-16T09:00:00.000-07:002009-05-17T09:31:32.049-07:00

We’ve long been fans of pay-as-you go international SIM chips for GSM cell phones. The two basic types are single-country chips and multi-country international chips. Our experience has been good with single-country chips, and mixed with international chips.Now, Telestial (one of the largest U.S. retailers of chips and phones) is offering a dual-number (U.S. and UK) international chip. There are

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-30531401753652345152009-05-15T09:05:00.000-07:002009-05-15T09:07:35.438-07:00

Ryanair charges up to £40 just for boarding passes.Air Jamaica charges for bags that may not even arrive.US Airways can’t figure out how to board passengers.Alitalia ... is, well, just “the world’s worst airline.”

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-42045878878016270572009-05-13T09:26:00.000-07:002009-05-13T09:28:35.589-07:00

Not that we’re really surprised. In today’s credit/financial environment, change is the rule rather than the exception. We’ve received notice of (or read about) several coming changes in travel rewards credit cards that we have previously recommended.Indications are that the popular Chase Freedom card – which offered 3% rewards in certain categories – is being eviscerated. The new scheme is

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-88448328195765999352009-05-12T09:44:00.000-07:002009-05-12T09:45:50.754-07:00

Orbitz wants you to sign a petition to help end the Cuba travel ban. In exchange for signing their online petition, Orbitz is offering a $100 voucher for a future “vacation” to Cuba when/if such travel is allowed, and when/if Orbitz offers such travel.

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-6370240798720848152009-05-12T09:08:00.000-07:002009-05-12T09:11:16.854-07:00

It’s time for a couple of Customer Service kudos. We know we can get kind of grumpy on this site, so we’d like to acknowledge two recent excellent customer-service experiences.We recently purchased two carry-on bags from Rick Steves, and the telescoping handle on one bag became disconnected the first time we used it. Their customer service department responded in one day, and is sending a

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-39808393176932910732009-05-04T09:35:00.000-07:002009-06-05T12:51:58.517-07:00

After suffering from one too many online credit card fiascos and ripoffs, we began researching virtual credit card numbers. (In the past month, we had a disputed charge with Earthlink, we had one of our credit card numbers used by some scumbag, and we received a letter from Batteries.com about a security breach of their computers.)Virtual credit cards are one-time or short-term numbers that are

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-60194474876714151242009-05-01T10:35:00.000-07:002009-05-01T14:38:11.300-07:00

Disclaimer: This is our opinion only – take medical advice from medical professionals.But.... The average annual number of regular, seasonal flu-related deaths in the U.S. alone is 36,000. The Centers for Disease Control says, “[Study] results...showed that...36,171 flu-related deaths occurred per year, on average.” Additionally, estimates are that worldwide flu-related deaths are 250,000 to

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-76221922089353156472009-04-29T09:31:00.000-07:002009-04-29T09:34:13.820-07:00

Does anyone really need first class seating and service? Wouldn’t it be nice to spread the wealth more toward the back of the plane?It’s kind of like those arguments that Wall Street has been making saying that without obscene salaries and bonuses, the “talent” will go elsewhere. It’s claimed that the huge compensation packages are necessary to keep all the geniuses from abandoning ship and

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-2804242400985880722009-04-26T08:59:00.000-07:002009-04-26T09:01:46.630-07:00

With Northwest being absorbed into Delta, the Northwest Visa that was offered by U.S. Bank will be disappearing – just like the terminals, signs, and paint jobs on anything that said Northwest. With that change, the only Delta affiliated credit card will be from American Express.But U.S. Bank isn’t sitting still. If you’re a current Northwest WorldPerks Visa card holder, you should be receiving a

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-83394846084213310652009-04-18T08:32:00.000-07:002009-04-18T08:36:41.370-07:00

We’re still not huge Capital One fans, yet we get more inquiries about their credit cards than any other topic on this blog. So we thought it was time to re-survey their offerings and post an update.As we’ve said before, we think their reward schemes are generally unimpressive (not bad, just not great). But they are also one of a very few cards that do not add foreign-exchange fees, making them a

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-82661609717207471872009-04-16T10:57:00.000-07:002009-04-16T11:01:43.362-07:00

On one of our recent travels, we spent a month in a location where we couldn’t easily get wireless or other high-speed internet service, but which did have a landline phone. We researched options, and settled on EarthLink’s dialup internet – for one month of service.We did NOT set up recurring service, but EarthLink continues to charge our credit card (and we continue to contest the charge).

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-31270215836291422752009-04-15T10:22:00.000-07:002009-04-15T10:27:46.243-07:00

There’s been a lot of back-and-forth lately in the travel media about fee-based ancillary revenue. It’s frequently called an “a la carte” pricing strategy – sell a basic ticket, but charge extra for checked bags, a preferred seat, meals, etc. These being aspects of the travel experience that the airlines now believe are optional.Some commentators suggest that in many cases the added fees are the

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-8511511396430357892009-04-13T09:52:00.000-07:002009-04-13T09:56:47.022-07:00

We seem to be on a roll with Cuba posts.Just read an article in the Canadian Globe and Mail about Canadians worried about an “Invasion of the American Tourists” to Cuba. It must have been a slow news day, or some Canadians are really whiney. Or is Canada upset about losing tourist dollars flowing into Toronto and Montreal from the currently “illegal” American tourists to Cuba who fly from those

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-35335829865421047052009-04-11T10:15:00.000-07:002009-04-11T11:00:39.169-07:00

The world is full of too much noise. The web is full of too much babble. And sites like Twitter just make it worse. We actually like Twitter, but are already getting sick of reading “I went shopping” tweets from folks we like to refer to as “nit-twits.” Here is the best article we’ve read about using Twitter: “Twitter Tips from 25 Tweeting Travelers.” Most of the advice boils down to: Please say

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-59335003548398755012009-04-09T15:11:00.000-07:002009-04-09T15:16:04.419-07:00

We just saw the news that a new airline, Baltia, has received U.S. Dept of Transportation permission to fly from New York JFK to St. Petersburg, Russia. The report we saw on themoscowtimes.com indicates the airline will begin operations sometime this summer.What we find hilarious, though, is the airline’s name for its frequent flyer program – Freeloaders. We really don’t think this is

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-62128286703665517232009-04-06T20:30:00.000-07:002009-04-11T10:38:53.786-07:00

Ever since we were lucky enough to travel to Cuba several years ago, we’ve been fascinated with the country. Now, with the strong probability of the easing of travel restrictions for all Americans traveling to the island, we thought we’d start a new blog poll. The question: When travel restrictions are finally eliminated for American travel to Cuba, what U.S. airline will be the first to announce

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-6151229085315809382009-04-02T09:37:00.000-07:002009-04-02T09:41:24.566-07:00

Results from last month’s “Worst Airline Customer Service” blog poll:United – 46% of votersAmerican – 15%Continental – 7%USAir – 7%Delta/Northwest – 7%They’re all terrible – 38% (Multiple choices were allowed.)Interesting to note that JetBlue, Alaska, Frontier, Virgin America, and Southwest didn’t receive any votes as the worst. Totally unscientific, but hopefully entertaining.BAA, the operator

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-25784974474502773252009-03-28T08:57:00.001-07:002009-03-28T09:03:17.011-07:00

It’s approaching April Fool’s Day, so we thought we’d post one of the great April events from 75 years ago.On April 21, 1934, the most famous photograph of the Loch Ness Monster was published in the UK Daily Mail. The so-called “Surgeon’s Photograph” was supposedly taken by London gynecologist Robert Wilson. Sixty years later, the photo was revealed as definitively being a hoax. The photo was of

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-21009187104341805022009-03-26T09:55:00.000-07:002009-03-26T10:37:58.585-07:00

Icelandair will begin non-stop service from Seattle to Reykjavik beginning in July. Icelandair connects to about 20 European destinations, including London, Amsterdam, and Paris. Icelandair also has an interesting Premium Economy product; plus, there are no charges for layovers in Iceland.TripAdvisor now has a booking engine that shows most added fees when searching for airfares, allowing more

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-3681257740445556622009-03-20T15:49:00.000-07:002009-03-23T10:40:15.453-07:00

To update our recent article about Premium Economy, Breaking Travel News has a few more details about the new Air France product.To be called Premium Voyageur, the cabin will feature 28 fixed-shell seats with 38-inch pitch, 19 inches wide, 4-inch leather armrests, and that will recline 123 degrees. Each seat will also have 10-inch video screens.Meals are reportedly to be the same as in regular

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-56947579189499592392009-03-15T14:49:00.000-07:002009-03-15T14:56:47.939-07:00

It’s still not an end of the travel ban to Cuba, but Congress has relaxed travel rules to Cuba for relatives of Cubans on the island.Also, the first chip in the 47-year trade embargo has appeared, with the U.S. now allowing some food and medicine to be exported to the island.Finally, the spending limits (previously zero) for allowed travelers has been raised to $179 per day.As we have speculated

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-27803323141049606442009-03-10T10:52:00.000-07:002009-03-10T10:59:40.139-07:00

This is an email we just received from Hilton Hotels about their new brand, Denizen Hotels. Corporate-PR-flak-speak is highlighted in red."Born modern, with global appeal and a local accent"Denizen Hotels will become a cultural epicentre at each of its destinations, cultivating community within its walls. Eclectic, social and humbly authentic, each property within the brand will be smart in

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-27976699279896678712009-02-26T08:39:00.000-08:002009-02-26T08:41:35.974-08:00

There’s a post over at One Mile At A Time (and several other travel blogs and news sites) about a United flight attendant calling passengers in economy “idiots,” and being overheard by a passenger listening to the cockpit channel. On every United flight we’ve taken in the past year (in Economy Plus, which is still in the “idiot cabin”), that’s pretty much how we’ve been treated, so it’s really

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-42390011509537669242009-02-25T10:53:00.000-08:002009-02-25T10:59:43.012-08:00

Discover has introduced a new travel-rewards credit card. The Escape Card’s rewards are similar to many other “fake miles” cards, such as some Capital One, Merrill, and American Express cards. The Escape Card gives you 2 miles for every $1 spent – working out to a 2% reward ratio (but only 1% if you want to redeem your miles for cash instead). That’s better than some of the other cards’ reward

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-51057155159043150432009-02-23T08:51:00.000-08:002009-02-23T09:03:34.805-08:00

Just a couple of weeks ago, we posted about flight attendants’ new “main responsibility.” We quoted Corey Caldwell, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, who said that the union, “views Wi-Fi as a potential threat to flight attendants’ ability to keep order in the cabin. Our duties involve securing the safety of the cabin ... the main requirement that flight attendants are on

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-63163569977730390572009-02-22T12:34:00.000-08:002009-02-22T12:46:02.627-08:00

Several banks actually seem to be lowering fees or reimbursing ATM-owner-imposed fees. (Isn’t competition – especially from the internet banks – a wonderful thing?) So rather than list a bunch of small banks offering 0% or 1% fees, or that reimburse ATM-owner fees, we thought we’d highlight some of the Wall of Shame Banks – banks that still charge exorbitant fees (sometimes as much as 3% plus $3

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-44645236851113155962009-02-20T15:13:00.000-08:002009-02-22T12:40:44.323-08:00

Just say no.The practice seems most prevalent in Europe, but some merchants (anywhere in the world) will offer to charge your credit-card payment in U.S. dollars rather than in the local currency. Don’t do it. This “dynamic currency conversion” can cost you as much as 5% more for your purchase, as the exchange rate the merchant uses is usually much higher than the Interbank exchange rate. This is

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-80927101051311870172009-02-19T10:12:00.000-08:002009-02-19T10:17:31.257-08:00

It’s a sign (unfortunately) of the times. European cheapo carrier Ryanair has installed in-flight cell-phone service on 20 of its aircraft. According to the report on Breaking Travel News, only six people will be able to use their mobile phones at one time. Since Ryanair has virtually no service that it doesn’t charge for, maybe all the galleys on the aircraft will be empty, and the cell-phone

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-30240960373563472622009-02-18T19:51:00.000-08:002009-02-22T12:40:01.698-08:00

Despite the fact that the Discover credit card does not have as much international presence as does Visa, MasterCard, or America Express (it’s only accepted internationally in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, China, and Central America), it was one of the few cards that did not add foreign currency transaction fees when converting purchases made in other currencies. No longer. According to Discover

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-2634540253315539882009-02-17T09:37:00.000-08:002009-02-17T09:39:19.200-08:00

It looks like it’s official. The Hilton HHonors American Express card has changed its reward ratios. The new terms offer “6 points for Hilton Family Hotels, Supermarkets, Drug Stores, Gas Stations, Home & Wireless Phone, Cable & Satellite TV, and Internet Service Providers.” 3 points for other purchases. This is up from 5 points previously in several categories, but Restaurants and the Post

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-20873278331312495312009-02-16T08:44:00.001-08:002009-02-16T08:49:36.654-08:00

A bipartisan bill (HR 874) that would allow Americans to travel to Cuba was introduced in the House of Representatives on February 4, 2009. The Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act would prohibit the President of the United States from regulating or forbidding travel to or from Cuba by U.S. citizens and legal residents, except in times of war between the two countries or of imminent danger to public

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27125769.post-54910570970281830592009-02-14T14:43:00.000-08:002009-02-15T08:25:58.877-08:00

We recently received an email note from a friend in Sweden, and he asked about the photo gear we travel with, and what we use for our books and websites. Which got us to thinking (a dangerous precedent). Here are our preferences for travel photography equipment.Francesca has a “big” Nikon digital SLR, with 18-55, 55-200, and 70-300 zoom lenses. Despite its significant bulk and weight, she takes

Ken Hulickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14803638433320725449noreply@blogger.com